Late one Thursday afternoon, I received a phone call from the local manager of a wholesaler called Walsall Conduits. The manager, whose name was Stan, told me that I had won a prize in a competition. I was confused at first, but he explained that he had entered on my behalf because he thought I would like it. The prize was a weekend holiday for two in Marbella, Spain, with all expenses paid and entertainment provided. This was a ruse so that tax wasn’t demanded. In fact it was just a great freebie and I was very pleased.
I thanked him profusely, and so it was that my partner and I traveled to a hotel near Heathrow. The next morning, they served a fabulous breakfast. It was the kind of breakfast I had dreamed of, with a sideboard groaning under the weight of bacon, eggs, black pudding, devilled kidneys, kedgeree, and more. Despite the spread, I opted for toast and marmalade as I couldn’t face the feast, which I had wanted to indulge in for years.
We then boarded a plane which, in a couple of hours, took us to Marbella, where a coach was waiting to take us to a rather nice five-star hotel. That night, they hosted a lovely reception with dinner and dancing. On Saturday, after breakfast, we went sightseeing, taking in El Tajo de Ronda and then onwards to Puerto Banus, where we enjoyed a lovely meal and got sunburned. In the evening, they took us to a cabaret where the magic was exceptional. I distinctly remember it involved a panther.
They bussed us back to the hotel, and the next morning we woke up to another great breakfast before being taken back to the plane. Around 4:00 in the afternoon, as the plane was flying back and alcohol was flowing, everyone was in high spirits. At that point, two of the people who had enjoyed the holiday with us began walking up and down the plane wearing T-shirts promoting another wholesaler. This was completely inappropriate, and the organisers from Walsall Conduits were so offended that they vowed never to organise anything like that again. It’s a great pity—a fabulous weekend spoiled by such a stupid incident.